𝐿𝑂𝑉𝐸𝑅𝐵𝑂𝑌 (𝐶. 𝐷𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑜𝑟𝑦)

Chapter 31: Betrothed

"What you did to her was pathetic and horrible, there's no way in hell she'll marry you," Cedric fumed.

"So what, she'll marry you? Fat chance," Roger snorted.

"I don't care who she marries, as long as they treat her for the brilliant woman she is. That sure as hell wouldn't be you, considering how awful you were to her. If you would have had to go through half the things you put her through, I think you would be running home to your father and crying like the insolent child you are," Cedric growled. Before Roger could say anything back, Cedric turned on his heel and stormed back to his dorm.

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"I forgot to tell you all! We have our first D.A. meeting today," Amora chattered excitedly, digging into her breakfast.

"Really? Where is it?" Cassie asked, intrigued.

"Dunno, Neville told me it's in this random room he found," Ned shrugged. The Great Hall was bustling with morning activities as the aroma of pancakes and pumpkin juice wafted around the dining area. Ned, Hazel, Belle, Amora, Cedric, Aaron, Rey, and Cassie were all seated at the Hufflepuff table, and Amora tried her best to ignore Tyler and Draco's glares.

As the D.A. talk continued, Amora glanced over at Cedric. His usual fluffy brown hair looked like a mess and his eyes were drifting around the hall, not able to focus on one specific thing. He was too busy worrying whether or not to warn Amora about her possible betrothal, but had decided against it, hoping it would just go away over time.

"Hey, Ced?" Amora asked quietly, reaching out for his hand. Their fingers laced together as Amora snapped him back into the present.

"Hm? Oh, sorry, I just had a long night," Cedric yawned.

"We had a long night," Amora giggled and Cedric couldn't help but smile.

"Oh hell no," Aaron gagged, choking on his pumpkin juice. Cassie spit her food out, bits of pancake flying around the table.

"Not like you and Rey haven't done the same," Amora shot back. Rey collapsed in laughter, clapping a very miffed Aaron on the back.

"You all repulse me," Cassie snickered as she stood up. She gave them a quick wave goodbye before she crossed the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table with Seamus, Dean, Neville, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry. She sat next to Dean and they smiled at each other fondly before starting a lively conversation.

"Is it just me, or is Cass a little too close with that Dean Thomas?" Cedric asked, glaring at the young Gryffindor. Amora wacked him on the arm and gave him a stern look before Cedric dramatically rolled his eyes, giving up on intimidation.

"I'm so tired of seventh wheeling," Hazel muttered under her breath, flicking her blonde hair to the side.

"Are you sure you aren't talking with anyone? You keep disappearing lately," Belle said, narrowing her eyes with curiosity. Hazel froze, her eyes going wide like a deer in headlights.

"Spill," Ned said. Everyone looked at him, confused.

"What? I know you all secretly love the drama too," Ned said defensively.

"I think that's just you, mate," Cedric said.

"He's just a pen pal," Hazel explained.

"Who is he?" Rey prodded.

"Anyways, where is the D.A. meeting tonight?" Hazel asked. Before anyone could keep asking her more questions, Aaron was the one who caught the conversation short.

"Dunno, Ron told me that it was this place called the Room of Requirement."

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"Hey, Harry, what is all of this stuff?" Neville asked. He motioned to the scattered materials around the room, such as Dark Detectors and Sneakascopes. The entire group had been assembled in what Amora felt like was an odd room. It felt almost too convenient.

"Loads of Defense Against the Dark Arts equipment. Hopefully we'll be able to get to all of it before the end of term. You need to understand something before we start, though. Defending yourself from the Dark Arts has less to do with magical ability and more to do with thinking fast and a lot of luck," Harry explained. The room grew so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

"We'll be doing Expelliarmus tonight," Harry continued, "though hopefully we can move on to other things if we have time."

"Oh please. Professor Lockhart taught us that in second year," Zacharias Smith snorted.

"Lockhart didn't teach as much as prune himself," Ron shot back. Aaron stifled a laugh as Amora's lips spread to a smile.

"Besides, it works. I used it against You-Know-Who last June. It saved my life," Harry said, and Zacharias fell silent.

"Right. Well, let's split into pairs and give it a go," Harry directed.

Amora grabbed Cedric's hand and led him to a small corner in the room. Once they had taken their positions, they began to cast the spell but to no avail. Amora grew frustrated as she felt herself grow angrier as the night went on.

A few hours later, she began to curse at herself. Cedric jogged over to her side of the room and grabbed her hands.

"Take some deep breaths, sunshine. You can do this, I know you can," Cedric told her. Amora nodded her head and let out a small breathe before nodding her head to continue. His reminder remained in her mind as she pointed her wand at his.

"Expelliarmus!" Amora shouted. She gasped when a light blue flash flew from her wand and knocked Cedric;s out of his hand. Instead of picking up his wand, he ran over and lifted her up, just as excited as she was.

"I knew you could do it!" Cedric cheered and Amora laughed, giddy with joy.

"Okay, everyone. We've done a lot today, and I've seen some great improvement. That's it for now. We'll meet back here, same time next week!" Harry reminded them as people began to drift out of the meeting.

"Grilled cheese night?" Amora asked as they left the room and filtered out into the hallway.

"Grilled cheese night," Cedric grinned back.

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A/N: Thank you all so much for 9k reads!! It means so much to me, and I love writing this series! <3